The last light of the day painted the sky with its grace and warmth, bidding goodbye until it was time for the day to greet once again. The warm shimmer of orange kissed Raven's skin, engulfing her in a warm hug amid the cold winter weather. "So, have you thought about my proposal?" Raven's mother questioned her as she popped up beside her while they walked along the semi-abandoned pier. Only a few people were scattered across it.
"About going to stay at Aunt Mel's for a while?" Raven questioned her mother as she took a sip from her steaming cup of hot chocolate poured from the small opening on top of the cup. "And to finish your last two years there? She misses us, especially you," her mother continued, explaining as she bumped Raven with her shoulder before grabbing her arm and linking it with hers. Continuing to the end of the pier, water splashed against the wooden structure. "With everything that went on at your previous high school—the headaches, the accident that happened at school—maybe a change of scenery would be just what you need," her mother said, pulling them to a halt.
The headaches. She had had them since she could remember. It felt like a metal rod being shoved through her head, but of late, the headaches had become so frequent, resulting in blackouts and visions. After what happened at her old high school and the comments that other students made, other students quickly labeled her a freak, and she became an outcast. Maybe leaving will be good for her. "It will be good," Raven smiled reassuringly, but the knowing look her mother gave her told her that her mother knew she was only trying to reassure her. Before her mother could say something, Raven added, "I cannot even remember that we ever went to visit her. She usually visits us. Why is that?" she questioned, gripping the warm cup tighter in her hands, trying to warm herself as the sun had disappeared, heavy clouds quickly pulling up above them, the only lights coming from the lamps lining the pier. "Going there brings up some memories, and I," her mother trailed off, and Raven knew what her mother was referring to. Her father. She never knew her father, but she had seen photos of him. He died before she was even born, and his death was still hard on her mother.
"But I think you will like it. There are many places Aunt Mel said you would like and could go," her mother rambled on, but Raven could not focus much as her mother's figure became blurry. Her vision slowly became distorted as a sharp pain shot through her head, making her drop the cup to the ground, the contents spilling out as her hand shot up to grip her head in her hands. Despite her current condition, Raven was more focused on what her mother said. "There are many places, Aunt Mel said you could go and would like to go." "W-what, you aren't coming with?" she questioned her mother through the pain, trying to look at her mother through her distorted vision.
She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision, but she could only make out a worried look on her mother's face. Closing her eyes, Raven calmed herself as she waited for the headache to pass. "It's the headaches again, isn't it?" her mother questioned as she came closer to her. "Yeah, I thought that the headaches and flashes would go away with the medication, but it seemed to only worsen with time," she told her mother as her mother gently brushed the hair that had fallen into her face. "How bad would you rate it on a scale from one to ten?" her mother questioned as a sharp pain went through her head. Raven squeezed her eyes shut as a flash of red shot through her mind. "Ahh, definitely a 9," Raven cried out to her mother, grabbing her chin in her hand. "Let me take a look," her mother said, gently pressing down on her daughter's chin. "Open your eyes, little Raven," her mother coaxed. With her face scrunched up, Raven breathed out, "It hurts."
"I know. Take a deep breath." Taking a deep breath and releasing it, her body calmed down with each breath she took. Raven slowly blinked, opening her eyes. Everything appeared distorted, resembling the view through a raindrop, with a blurry and smudged appearance. She could barely make out anything; the lights from behind them were shining like stars.
Turning her gaze towards her mother, whose gaze was already on hers, she dropped her gaze to her neck. "I see you found the necklace," her mother said before meeting her gaze once more as she looked into her eyes. "I thought I had lost it," she told her mother. Raven moved her gaze to something behind her mother, a figure leaning against the pier, watching them from a distance. "Mom?" she whispered to her mother, trying to gain her mother's attention as she spotted the figure no longer where it had been a few seconds ago. Her mother muttered something as she moved her daughter's chin from side to side. "Your eyes seem unfocused but not so bad, little Raven," her mother said, but Raven's body went rigid as she saw the figure reappear, approaching them at a fast speed, her mother unaware as she muttered something under her breath. How is her mother not hearing this? Maybe this is another hallucination. But it wasn't. The figure launched at them.
"MOM BEHIND YOU!" Raven screamed, trying to warn her mother. Her mother spun around as the person knocked her over, bumping into Raven. Her body tipped backward, colliding with the pier as a loud crack sounded in the air. Then there was darkness.
***
[SIRENS]
[SCREAMS]
The loud sound of chaos echoed through Raven's ears, her body alert to what was going on around her. The sounds woke her up. "What is going on?"
[VOICES]
[SIRENS]
[CARS]
"What is happening?"
'Where am I?' Raven wondered about the cold and wet pressure under her back. 'What is that?' she wondered. She had to be on the ground.
"SHE IS ALIVE! She has a pulse! I NEED HELP OVER HERE! HER HEAD IS BLEEDING; SHE HAS A VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE; WE NEED TO GET HER TO THE HOSPITAL!" a woman's voice called out close to Raven. 'Somebody's hurt?' The question echoed through her mind as darkness surrounded her. The sound of rushing footsteps became clear as she could hear them now, which indicated there were people near her.
Slowly, her senses and movement came back to her as the smell of soaked wood filled her nose. "WE NEED TO CLEAR THE SCENE IF EVERYBODY COULD PLEASE MOVE BACK AND GIVE US SOME SPACE TO WORK!" A deep male voice called out amongst the chatter of the crowd, no longer focusing on the smell but concentrating on what the man said. 'Clear the scene.'
"Are you a witness?" the same male questioned. Raven could hear someone sniffling. 'Why are you crying?' she wondered. "S-SHE'S TORN APART!" a woman cried out. Raven's body went rigid, her heartbeat picking up, causing a beeping sound to become more frequent. "Her BP is dropping. We need to get her to the hospital." Someone muttered, but Raven focused on the crying woman. "I DID NOT SEE THE GIRL UNTIL LATER UNTIL HE LEFT. OH MY GOODNESS, SHE MUST BE HER DAUGHTER!" She cried out to the man. 'Mom,'
"Miss, can you hear me?" someone asked loudly. 'Where are you, Mom?' Raven's eyes snapped open with that thought. The paramedic's eyes were big. He fell back slightly as he stared at her. Raven's eyes moved away from him to the night sky as she felt the softest touches on her face. It was raining. The sound of the water quickly reminded her of where she was on the pier. Red and blue lights danced around her. Adjusting her head, she spotted a police car, but there was not just one, but a few. It was all she had to see to get herself moving.
Her head was heavy as she moved her body, rolling over her heavy body as she was now on her knees, confused as to what was happening to her. "Miss!" the paramedic called out to her. The potent smell of iron filled her nose as she watched the police officers hold back a crowd staring in her direction, curious. "SHE IS AWAKE!" the woman who was crying called out. Raven was scanning her surroundings, trying to find her mother among the people. She looked through the passing legs of the people carrying black body bags. Feeling dizzy as everything spun around, she could not focus. "MISS!" She turned her head to the man kneeling beside her with a medical bag that was already open. "W-what happened? Where is my mom?" she croaked out, her mouth dry and a bitter taste in it. The paramedic reached out to Raven, pressing something to the side of her head, but Raven instinctively moved her head away. The paramedic ignored her question as he gently pushed her back down. "You should not move too much, okay?" he said solemnly. "M-om," she tried calling out, but her voice was too soft, too sore. As the paramedic searched through his bag for something, Raven shakily stood up, swaying with each step she took as she called out for her mother.
"Mom!" She disappeared between the people trying to spot the familiar face, the side of her face warm and dripping with something, but she could not see her. As an officer spotted her, he began walking toward her, but her eyes landed on the familiar face of her mother, staring at her as she was on the ground. "Mom!" she cried out, moving her body as fast as she could, but she struggled to move as if she were in one of those dreams where you tried to run but your body could not move. "STOP HER!" someone called out, but it was too late. Her world slowed down. She could not breathe. Her world stopped moving. Raven dropped to her knees next to her mother. Her eyes stared back at her daughter. Her eyes were lifeless, but they were not the worst part. "MOM!" "Mommy!" she cried as she stared off into the distance, where the rest of her mother's body lay in pieces. Her cries filled the air as the people watched heartbrokenly at the girl as she reached out for her mother, but the paramedic's hands circled her before she could reach her. He pulled her away from the scene in front of her. "It's okay," the person said as they pulled her away. "NONONO!" she cried hysterically. "I am sorry," the voice repeated as something nicked her neck. Her vision blurred as she felt herself being picked up, and darkness surrounded her.
***
"Miss Drew?" "Miss Drew?" the officer repeated, trying to get the girl's attention, but her eyes focused on the small TV in the corner of the room, on low; but for Raven, it was deafening. "BREAKING NEWS"
"WARNING"
"WE ADVISE VIEWERS TO USE DISCRETION."
"WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE MIGHT BE DISTURBING FOR MOST VIEWERS. THIS IS NOT FOR VIEWERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18."
"EARLIER TONIGHT, A TRAGEDY STRUCK IN OUR CITY WHEN A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER WERE VICTIMS OF A HEINOUS ATTACK THAT HAPPENED ON THE LOCAL PIER. THE DAUGHTER WAS FOUND ALIVE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE MOTHER WAS FOUND DEAD."
"Can we turn it off?" the officer asked. The nurse, with the clipboard, looked up; her gaze went from Raven to the TV and to the officer, who looked at her expectantly. She rushed to the remote that was in front of her. Fumbling with it, she switched off the TV before hurrying out of the room, leaving Raven alone with the nurse, who was busy stitching up the side of her head and the two officers.
"We are sorry for your loss. We know that this is very difficult, but we need to know if there is anything else you can tell us about the person who attacked you?" the one officer questioned while holding a small notebook and pen in his hands.
Raven shook her head but quickly stopped, nearly forgetting about the nurse, who was busy with her stitches. "Sorry," she said. "It's okay," the nurse whispered back. Raven turned her attention back to her officers. "I could not see much, but all I knew was that the person was super-fast," Raven said as the officer scribbled things down. "It is mentioned in your medical record that you have had headaches since you were little and that they would distort your vision and capabilities to do things when they occurred. Is that what happened out there?" the nurse asked her. Biting her lip, she nods, knowing that if she did not have it at that moment, maybe, just maybe, her mother would still be there. "Yes," she whispered, fumbling with her fingers. Raven pressed her pointer fingers into her thumbs. She stared down as the tips of her fingers turned red while she tried to stop herself from crying.
"And you were with your mother the whole time?" the other officer asked. "Yes." She barely got the word out. He nods, taking a step closer to her bed.
"We have called your aunt, and she will be here shortly. There are officers outside your room. Oh, and we found this necklace for you." The officer said as he held out a small bag containing her necklace. Raven took the bag from him, staring at her necklace. "Thank you," she whispered to him. The officer gave her a quick nod. "You should try to get some rest," the officer said as they left the room, closing the door behind them. Lying back, she rested her head on the pillow, as it was just her and the nurse.
***
"RAVEN!" A voice brought her back to consciousness. Raven's eyes snapped open; she must have fallen asleep. Her eyes scanned the room as they landed on her aunt entering the room. "Aunt Mel," she cried out as her aunt embraced her. "I am here," she whispered as she held her sobbing niece in her arms. "I am here."